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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

i have read the linux+ book 3 times now
and have messed around with slackware and centos for a while...have learned a lot.

I always assumed that comptia + certifications such as A+ N+ (which i have) and linux+ were all entry level certifications. But somebody on another forum said you need to have at least 1 year admin experience before taking the exams.

I went on to the red hat web site and did an assessment test to see what the basic entry level course is.

RedHat certification is quite a tough exam, I did mine something like 7 years ago (so it's lapsed, I should re-certify).

Over the last year I've interviewed something like 30 candidates for 3 different Linux sys admin roles and to be honest while I'm impressed with anyone that takes any form of certification it isn't as high on my list of needs as real world work experience is.

You can get all the certs wanted but if you cannot do the work then no-go. Resume filled with certs and lacking solid work experiences will get you no where. Get your feet dirty, not everyone can be lead. How do you think the lead admin got to his/her position? My money is on hard work & experiences. Not by studying for certifications.

I don't think the exams for RHEL 7 have been released yet since it only came out a week or so back and there's usually some delay.

I've been a professional Linux admin (amongst various other roles in the organization that employs me) for nearly 10 years, and I don't have a single cert to my name. As others have said, demonstrating hard work and competency, even in hobbyist or volunteer positions, or even just messing around at home, can often get your farther than a cert with little real world experience.

Sure i know nothing beats experience...but how can you get a job without a cert or two???

If you think that a 'cert' will get you a job (or even an INTERVIEW), you are sadly mistaken. I have met many, MANY people with 'certifications' who have no idea what they're doing. This site is littered with lots of posts for people looking to cheat on their exams, asking for dumps and practice tests, and there are lots of sites on the Internet that cater to just that. I worked with a guy who looked great on paper...had probably a dozen 'certifications', because of two things:

The company we worked for would reimburse test-taking costs

He would take practice exams/cheat exams over and over until he could squeak by

He was also as dumb as a box of hammers, and when he used his 'certifications' to get another job, he was let go within the first 60 days. This cycle repeated itself twice more, before the company wouldn't take him back again.

For me, anyone with a 'cert' goes beneath someone with any sort of experience, unless they also have several years in the trenches. Even then, you can better believe that I will absolutely grill the one with the 'cert' on things they should know. Want a job? Then LEARN the job...nothing prevents you from knowing far more than any certification exam will ever teach you...and if you have that knowledge, it translates into confidence during an interview, and when you're asked questions, you're more likely to have an answer. I'd rather have someone who knows how to think and troubleshoot their way through a problem, than someone who knows what's on a test.

I'm agree with you TBone, I started with Novell Netware CNE... after that.. my enterprise migrated to Suse Linux but I dont like it. them Im trying to start studying real linux like RedHat because I want to know what Im doing!!! not like Yast

Why I chose Redhat? because my Job is a result of a public tendering process ... And certifications are mandatory here... I archived MCSE and I never worked with Microsoft ... but was a requirement for the public tendering process " 5 IT with MCSE, 2 with clp, CNE ...and so on."

Them I want to learn more linux (Suse certification is a joke) and archive one certification in case of ..... a new public contest...

I'm agree with you TBone, I started with Novell Netware CNE... after that.. my enterprise migrated to Suse Linux but I dont like it. them Im trying to start studying real linux like RedHat because I want to know what Im doing!!! not like Yast

There is nothing more 'real' about Red Hat than SuSE, Debian, or any other flavor of Linux. The basics are all the same, but the utilities may be different. zypper vs yum, for example. Different ways of doing the same thing.

Quote:

Why I chose Redhat? because my Job is a result of a public tendering process ... And certifications are mandatory here... I archived MCSE and I never worked with Microsoft ... but was a requirement for the public tendering process " 5 IT with MCSE, 2 with clp, CNE ...and so on."

Them I want to learn more linux (Suse certification is a joke) and archive one certification in case of ..... a new public contest...

Don't know where you live, but this illustrates my point perfectly. A 'mandatory' certification is required...which means that probably 95%+ of the people who have one, don't have the knowledge to back it up. Which makes it meaningless to have. Not saying anything about your experience at all, or how/why you got your certifications, but looking at them as a 'requirement' makes about as much sense as telling an applicant they have to wear a tie to the interview.